Fun Summer So Far

Our Michigan trip was a blast this year. The kids had such an amazing time playing with their cousins, swimming and taking very few baths over the course of 10 days. I think the kids will look back on that trip with some terrific memories.

The day we traveled to Michigan was a little rough. This was our first time flying with 3 children. Our 3 hour layover in Atlanta turned into 5 hours when our flight was delayed. That was a little challenging, but the kids did better than I would have expected. They were so excited to be going to Granny and Pop's house that they stayed on their best behavior. Thankfully, the trip home was much easier and faster.

Once we got there, it was non-stop activity. Family get-togethers, photo shoots, and friends to see were all on the agenda. I had 6 photo shoots lined up during our time there, which kept me hopping. Busy, busy, busy. We had a huge family reunion on the 4th of July and family Olympics, which was a great time of "friendly competition" with fun games that involved things like beach towels, pool noodles and water balloon launchers. Our team took 3rd out of about a dozen teams. We were pretty pleased about that.

We also had a surprise 40th anniversary "Deck Building Party" for Caleb's parents while we were there. Jaime and Molly were in charge of keeping the parents distracted. We got up bright and early (that should have been their first clue that we were up to something) and took Caleb's parents along with our children to the zoo for a few hours. From there we sent the grandparents off to watch a movie with the kids. In the meantime, Caleb and his brothers, along with about 5 other guys (one who is a friend of the family and a professional builder) worked diligently to build a deck on the back of their parents' house. I was a little skeptical that it could be done in 6 hours, but I'm happy to say I was wrong. The deck looked awesome by the time Caleb's parents got home. Shortly after, lots of family, friends and neighbors arrived and we had a big party with lots of food and fun on the new deck.

We're having a great summer. It's been much more fun-filled than I anticipated. I've been steadily busy with photography work averaging about 1 photo shoot a week. This week we've been remodeling our sun room into a more workable office space. I will post some pictures soon of our new home office space when it's completed. I'm also doing an aerobics class called Body and Soul and I love it! My biggest challenge this summer is trying to keep the kids busy during the day since it's so hot outside. Today I took them to Chick Fil'A to the play place to get them out of the house. (Feel free to leave a comment on any ideas to keep them happy during these brutal summer months.)

Next we will venture to Arizona to see my family for about 10 days. We can't wait! We'll get to see a ton of my extended family on that trip too because we're getting together for my grandma's 75th Birthday celebration.

We'll come home and then it will be time for Bryant to start 2nd grade. Can you believe that? It seems like the pages are just flying off the calendar. We'll just keep soaking up the sun and enjoying the fun of summer because it will be over before we know it.